Folding car-step



T. BRANCH.

FOLDING CAR STEP. mwucmou FILED Aue.22,1919.

Patented Jan. 4, 1921.

UNITED STATES TURNER BRANCH, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

FOLDING CAR-STEP.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented J an.4, 1921.

Application filed August 22, 1919. Serial No. 319,195.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, TURNER BRANCH, a citizen of the United States ofAmerica, residing at New York, in the county of New York and State ofNew York, have invented new and useful Improvements in FoldingCar-Steps, of which the following is a specification.

The object of the invention is to provide a simple and efficient foldingor extension car step designed to be supported by the or dinarystationary steps of a railroad or other car under such conditions as tobe held in an inconspicuous and unobstructed relation with thestationary steps when the latter are not in use and to be extended andprojected when required to facilitate the boarding and alighting ofpassengers to take the place of the independent landing boxes or stepsnow in common use and to this end the invention consists in aconstruction and combination of parts of which a preferred embodiment isshown in the accompanying drawing, it being understood that changes inform and proportion may be resorted to within the scope of the claimswithout departing from the principles involved.

In the drawing:

Figure 1 is a side view of the apparatus showing in full lines the stepin its extended or operative position and in dotted lines the same inits folded or inoperative position.

Fig. 2 is a front view of the same.

Fig. 3 is a detail view of the operating arm connected with theextension step.

Fig. 4 is a similar view of the crank shaft.

Fig. 5 is a similar view of the bracket upon which the rocking lever ismounted.

The device embodying the invention is designed for use in connectionwith the ordinary car steps indicated at 10 and consists of an auxiliaryor folding step 11 supported for example at its extremities by riserlinks 12 pivoted to bracket arms 13 secured to the side boards of thestationary or permanent steps, it being understood that the intervalbetween the riser links may be made solid or fitted with a riser 14 toprevent the foot placed on the step 11 from being projected too farinwardly.

Attached to the auxiliary step by means of a fastening plate 15 is anoperating arm 16 which in turn is pivotally connected as at 17 to arocking lever 18 mounted upon a bracket 19 also secured to and carriedby the framework of the stationary or permanent steps of the car.

Mounted in suitable hearings in a hanger 2O suspended from the frameworkof the car is a rock shaft 21. To the terminal arms 22 and 23 thereofare connected respectively the hand lever 24 and a link 25 extending tothe upper end of the rocking lever 18. As shown a link 26 may serve asthemeans of connecting the lower arm of the hand lever with said rockshaft.

In operation the movement of the hand lever in one direction will servethrough the rock shaft and rocking lever to swing the auxiliary ormovable step 11 from the extended or full line position indicated inFig. 1 to the folded or dotted line position, so that said auxiliarystep is disposed beneath and close to the plane of the lowermoststationary step to avoid contact thereof with any obstructions along theline of the railway, whereas a movement of the hand lever in theopposite direction will extend the auxiliary step to the positionindicated in full lines in Fig. 1 so as to form an extension of thestationary steps to facilitate the movements of passengers in enteringor leaving the car.

The use of the attachment will dispense with the employment of theseparate auxiliary stepping box or stool now in common use by railroadsand which is open to many objections of which perhaps the most importantis that the box affords a very insecure footing and is apt to tilt andcause the passenger to fall whereas the extension step herein providedis spaced at an interval from the lowermost stationary stepcorresponding with the intervals between the permanent steps and is notsubjected to accidental displacement by the weight of the passenger.

I claim:

A device for the purpose indicated comprising in combination with thepermanent or stationary steps of a car, a folding step, brackets mountedon the side boards of said stationary steps, riser links pivotallyconnected both to the brackets and to the folding step, a rock shaft,hangers attached to the car and supporting the rock shaft, the latterbeing formed with terminal crank arms, a hand lever pivotally mounted onthe car, a link connecting the lever with one of and an operating armpivotally connected the arms of the rock shaft, a bracket mountto theremaining end of the rocking lever ed on the stationary steps a rockinglever and having a terminal plate secured to the 10 carried by saidbracket to which it is pivunder face of the folding step in the manotedat an intermediate point a link conner and for the purpose specified.

neeting one terminal of the rocking lever In testimony whereof I aflixmy si nature. with the remaining arm of said rock shaft, TURNER BRAKCH.

